Dispenser



Dec. 19, 1939.

w. KAPPENBERG DISPENSER Filed 0015. 29, 1937 INVENTOR BY Mp; v a

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 19, 1939 DISPENSER William Kappenberg, QueensVillage, N. Y., as-

signor to Coffee Products Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application October 29, 1937, Serial No. 171,635

2 Claims.

This invention relates to measuring devices for dispensing measuredamounts of liquids, and more particularly it relates to devices easilyconstructed and free from moving parts which dispense a predeterminedquantity of liquid from a container when the container is inverted. Thenew devices of the invention may be easily and economically produced,and are readily fastened within containers as by soldering, welding,crimping, etc., or by the use of adhesives or the like; or, thedispensing devices may be made, in part or in whole, integral with thecontainer and as a part thereof. In general, the dispensing devices areadapted to be positioned within the container as in the neck of bottlesor the like, or inside, and at the top of, cardboard or tin containers.

The invention will be described in detail in connection with theaccompanying drawing, which illustrates in a somewhat diagrammaticfashion dispensing devices which embody the invention, but the inventionis not limited thereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a sketch showing the construction of one form of device whichembodies the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 attached within acontainer and in an inverted position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the same device within a container showingthe measured body of liquid ready to be discharged;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the same device Within a container in aninclined position, showing how the liquid flows out; and

Fig. 5 is a sketch of a modified form of device which embodies theinvention.

In Figs. 2 through 4 there is shown a container Ill within which adispensing device such as is shown in Fig. 1 is fastened. Thisdispensing device I2 as illustrated consists of a cylinder I4 providedwith a top I6 and a bottom I8 forming a shell. The top I6 is closedexcept for the opening or pouring spout 20; while the bottom I8 iscompletely closed. Within this shell is a longitudinal partition 22extending from the top l6 about half way to the bottom I8, thispartition serving to divide the upper interior portion of the deviceinto two compartments 24 and 26. In the wall of the cylinder I4, at aposition above the lower end of the partition 22, is provided an opening28, communicating with compartment 26 and providing free access betweenthe interior of the device I2 and the interior of the container I0. Asillustrated in Figs. 2 through 4 the device I2 is fastened to the topand at the side in the container so that the opening or spout 20 is atthe periphery of the top wall of the container. The device is fastenedwithin the container as by soldering, welding, crimping, etc.; or, ifdesired, the device may be constructed in the form of a cylinder open atthe topwith the upper wall of the container serving as the top of thedispensing device, the partition 22 being fastened either to thecylinder I2 of the dispensing device or depending from the top wall ofthe container.

In Fig. 5 there is illustrated a modification of the dispensing device,in which the partition 22 shown in the device illustrated in Figs. 1through 4 is replaced by a tubular member 30, which is fastened to thecylinder forming the side walls of the dispensing device. Such a tubularmember, may, of course, be made in a number of shapes, butadvantageously it is constructed so that a relatively large surface 32is in contact with the side Walls of the dispensing device, tofacilitate the pouring of the liquid. 7

The operation of the devices illustrated is very simple. Assuming thatthe device has been placed within a container or bottle containing aliquid to be dispensed in predetermined portions, the container with theattached dispensing device is inverted, whereupon liquid flows throughthe opening 28 into the compartment 26, the level of the liquid risingin this compartment to a little above the opening 28, a seal thus beingformed which prevents any greater outflow. When the container is thenplaced in an upright position, the liquid in the chamber 26 is retainedin the dispensing device, as shown in Fig. 3. A small amount of theliquid may flow back into the container through the opening 28, but theproportions can readily be adjusted so that with a given liquid capacityof the chamber 26, a predetermined amount of the liquid will be retainedin the dispensing device when the container is placed in an uprightposition.

When the container, with the measured amount of liquid in the attacheddispensing device, is then tilted as in Fig. 4 with the spout or opening253 down, the liquid retained in the dispensing device will be pouredfrom the spout. Of course, in this operation, care should be taken thatthe container is not tilted so suddenly as to throw some of the liquidto be dispensed into the compartment 26, and also that the device istilted sufficiently'far so that the necessary liquid seal is formed. Asthe container is inverted and tilted to dispense a measured amount ofliquid, the chamber 26 is again filled to the proper depth with liquidwith the result that the dispensing device is again charged with theproper amount of liquid, so that each time a portion of the liquid isdispensed, another equal portion is charged to the dispensing device.

The amount of liquid to be dispensed in each portion by one of theseimproved devices may be varied widely, as by varying the position of theopening 28, or the diameter of the cylinder M, or the relativecross-sectional area of the compartments 26 and 24, etc. However, itshould be noted that in all cases it is essential that the partition 22extend beyond the opening 28 and also that it does not extend too fartowards the bottom of the dispensing device, or some of the liquid to bedispensed will pass into the chamber 26 when the container with theattached dispensing device is tilted.

A device adjusted for the dispensing of a liquid in measured quantitiesof about 5 cc., having a construction such as illustrated in Fig. 1, mayhave about the following dimensions:

Inner diameter of cylinder H1, 1 inch.

Length of partition 22, '7 inch.

Distance from center line of cylinder to partition 22, inch.

Overall inner length, 1%, inches.

Diameter of opening 23, i inch.

Distance from inner surface of top to center of opening 23, inch.

Thickness of partition 22, inch.

It will be understood that the above dimensions are given for a deviceintended to dispense approximately 5 cc. of liquid in each operation andthat if the .device is to be made by casting or similar operations,certain slight adjustments of the dimensions may be required to providethe necessary tapers for the withdrawal of the molds used in casting, orto provide for other variations required in fabrication.

The devices illustrated are in the form of circular cylindrical chambersbut their shape may, of course, be varied to accommodate particularshapes of containers, or to permit modifications of design. Thus thedrvices may be made in various shapes, for example, frustums, polygonalcylinders, etc.

The devices of the present invention are or very simple construction,such that the parts may be readily made of brass, aluminum, plaskons,resins, waxes, cardboard, tin plate, or other suitable material and aresuch that no expensive or intricate machine work is required for theirproduction, simple casting, molding, stamping, pressing, drawing, orspinning, operations being sufficient; the selection of the particularmethod of fabrication depending, of course, on the type of materialselected, etc. In general, one of the major advantages of the newdevices is that they may be made integrally with the containers to whichthey are to be attached; such that if they are to be used, for example,with tin cans, they may be advantageously made of the same tin plate andfastened within the cans by simple crimping or soldering, or byadhesives, or the like, portions of the dispensing device beingadvantageously formed as part of the walls of the container.

That the invention is capable of many practical embodiments, one ofwhich has been described in detail, will be apparent to those skilled inthe art. For example, instead of fastening the devices within acontainer as illustrated, they may be fastened within the neck ofbottles or the like, the necks being shaped to permit free communicationbetween the interior of the bottle and the interior of the dispensingdevice through the opening 28, or the devices themselves being speciallyshaped, as in the form of conical frustums or other suitable specialforms, by friction fits, with suitable gaskets if desired, or by screwthreads or in other suitable ways. Where the dispensing devices are usedwith paper or cardboard containers or cans or the like, they may beadvantageously constructed integrally with the containers, when thecontainers are manufactured, as by forming them of cardboard, tin, waxpaper, etc., held in place by crimping, beading, clipping, pinching,etc., or by adhesives, if desired, with the top wall of the containerforming the top of the dispensing device.

While the dispensing devices have been described in detail withparticular reference to the dispensing of liquids in measured andpredetermined portions, they are also applicable to the similardispensing of such solid granular materials as sugar, salt, and otherpourable solids.

I claim:

l. A dispensing device adapted to dispense liquids or pourable solids inpredetermined portions comprising a chamber adapted to be fastenedwithin a container, a longitudinal partition in the upper portion ofsaid chamber dividing said upper portion into two compartments, thesides of said partition abutting the side wall of said chamber, the sidewall of said chamber having an opening therein providing communicationbetween the interior of the container to which the device is attachedand one of said compartments, said partition extending below saidopening, and said opening being substantially midway between the top andbottom of said chamber.

2. A dispensing device adapted to dispense liquids and pourable solidsin predetermined portions comprising a chamber with top and bottomwalls, a longitudinal inner partition dividing the upper portion of saidchamber into two compartments, the sides of said partition abutting theside wall of said chamber, the side wall of said chamber having anopening therein providing communication between the interior of thecontainer to which the device is attached and one of said compartments,said partition extending a short distance below said opening, saidopening being substantially midway between the top and bottom of saidchamber, an opening or spout in the other compartment through which theliquid or pourable solid may be dispensed.

WILLIAM KAPPENBERG.

